The Golden Age of Baseball Cards™

...its influence on society and the game

Baseball Card Hall of Fame

Roy Campanella 1952 #314

by William Szczepanek

The 1952 card of Roy Campanella was his first in the Topps
major sets. While he started his major league career in
1948 and played through 1957, he started playing in the Negro
Leagues in the 1930s. In the early 1940s he played in the
Mexican League. Known as "Campy" he is considered one of the
best catchers of all time.

Campanella caught for outstanding Brooklyn teams in the 1940s
and 1950s. He was built in the Yogi Berra mold, squat and
stout. He was very light on his feet and very agile for his
build. He handled the elite Dodger pitching staff with
aplomb. He was one of the “The Boys of Summer” who won National
League pennants in 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956, narrowly
missed two others, and reached Brooklyn's baseball history apex
with its only World Series triumph in 1955. Roy Campanella was
elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers in
1969 with 79.41% of the vote.

Campanella won the MVP award 3 times in 5 years. In his best
season of 1953, he hit .312, scored 103 runs and had 142 RBI,
which led the league. He won the MVP award in the National
League 3 times: in 1951, 1953, and 1955. In each of these
seasons, he batted over .300, hit over 30 home runs and had over
100 runs batted in. In 1953, Campanella hit 40 home runs in
games in which he appeared as a catcher, a record now belongs to
Javy Lopez with 42. He was an All Star every year from 1949
through 1956.

In early 1958 Campanella suffered a broken neck in an
automobile accident. The accident left him paralyzed.
Campanella appeared on a television sports show regularly after
his automobile accident. On many occasions he was asked if
he would ever play again. His attitude was positive and
hopeful, but as time went on reality sunk in. He would never
play ball again.

"In the days when he played, catching was basically a white
position…. Catching was a thinking position that most of America
didn't think people like Campanella could handle. He broke the
mold. Because of the mentality of the country, the mentality of
baseball, to be black and an MVP meant he had to be head and shoulders above anybody else
in the league." —
Dusty Baker

"I never want to quit playing ball. They'll have to cut this
uniform off of me to get me out of it." — Roy Campanella